When We Fall Down
by AutumnFirstLight
Summary: Jack makes a mistake and struggles to deal with the effects. Bunnymund and the other Guardians are there to help him get back on his feet. Full story *shouldn't* be more than 10 chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**The first chapter of several to come.**

Normally, Jack Frost rode the North Wind. He and the Wind were friends in their own way. It played games with him and was always ready to take him away or take him home.

But Jack had a family of sorts now, and he grew bold.

He tried to ride the South Wind.

South did not like Jack, and the poor boy realized this too late. Half way through dumping snow on San Antonio, it tried to buck him. And then, just north of New Orleans, it tried to drown him.

Of course, South Wind knew nothing of the Winter Spirit's origins, so when he pulled himself desperately to the surface of the lake it sent waves crashing over to tumble the boy below again and again. The spirit couldn't die, but South wanted him to remember; no one rode the South Wind.

When Jack finally pulled himself to the beach the air around him was still as the grave but he was gasping and sobbing, trembling so badly with fear his teeth chattered. His mind struggled to cope with something his heart wasn't ready to repeat. He didn't know where his staff was but he was too afraid to move, let alone to try fly to find it. The memory of his death, hidden from him from so long, was now agonizingly fresh. As though it was all happening again he could feel every cell in his body cry out as it died, he could feel the darkness consuming him.

"North!" he called out in terror, glancing tremulously at the sky, "Tooth! Bunny! Sandy! Please!" He cried for his new friends now in the way he wished he could have that fateful day, hoping against hope they would hear him. "Please!" he choked, "Help me!" But no one came, and tears consumed him until he finally drifted off to fitful sleep.

**A/N: Please review. In addition to receiving many bonus Christmas points from me the review lets other people know that the story is worth a look. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I was planning on waiting a full 24 hours to post the second chapter but…First: I'm so glad so many of you like this story! I didn't really expect much of a response but I'm happy to have been wrong. To the many many of you who are following; Thank you! And, to those of you who reviewed; I send you special Jack Frost hugs! They're a little chilly but very heartfelt. Second: The rest of the chapters will be longer than that first one, don't worry. As for this story-I'm exploring only the mythology presented by the movie. I know there are books and I've read up on them a bit but I'm not going to rely on them. I rather like the way the movie presented it and I'd like to see how that evolves in my own mind. Finally, all grammatical mistakes and typos are my own.**

Ironically, it was his dreaming that alerted the Sand Man to Jack's presence, and his distress.

Sandy quickly informed the other guardians and, since it was so too close to Christmas for North to leave his station, Bunny was sent out to find and retrieve the Guardian's newest member.

Bunnymund was beyond bothered. He tromped through is tunnels as slowly as he reasonably could, wishing he was in his warren deciding new egg designs. Really, what trouble had that ratbag gotten himself into now? But, when he popped up on a silent beach his attitude quickly transformed from irritation to confusion. He'd expected to find the water of the lake frozen, or at the very least the beach covered in snow, but here it was warm. There wasn't the slightest chill to the air.

He walked a little ways and found Jack's staff waving back and forth in the shallows and his heart dropped. It fell further when he eyed a limp form further down the beach. All thoughts of giving Jack a thorough talking to fled.

Bunny grabbed Jack's staff and raced to where he lay on his side, huddled and trembling. Bruises marred his face and feet. The boy looked like he'd been dashed against the rocks.

"Ah, kid," he said sadly as he sunk to his knees beside the young spirit. "What happened to you?"

Bunny touched Jack's shoulder and he jerked awake with a cry, wrenching himself from the older Guardian.

"Woah, woah, easy there," said Bunny, holding up his paws. "It's just me, mate. I'm just here to help."

Jack took in quick breaths, staring blindly ahead, for several minutes before the words seemed to sink in. "Bunny? You're…here to help?"

"Right." Bunny tried to smile confidently without showing the disconcertion that was churning in his stomach. It must have worked.

At his words Jack slumped back to the wet sand, shaking with relief. "I-I thought," he tried to get the words out but struggled as his voice cracked, "I thought no one would-" The memory of drowning alone resurfaced and Jack's throat closed off. He was too embarrassed to look at Bunny when he was so emotional, so he just kept his head turned to the sand and did his best not to cry.

Taking in the boy's condition, Bunny stood and glared. "Who did this to you?" he snarled. But it wasn't Jack who answered, instead an angry hot wind rushed above them, and Jack flinched visibly.

"South!" Bunny roared at the wind, "You fool! Do you know what you've done! Who this is?!" The wind rushed by again and Jack cowered against the sand. Bunny picked up a handful of the stuff and threw it at the sky, but it was no use fighting the wind. "No! I will not talk with you! Go, go away! You're not wanted here!" With a final gust the wind died and was gone. When Bunny turned to Jack he was practically flattened against the beach. It made sense now. It didn't make the situation better, but it made sense.

"All right," said Bunny, suddenly feeling exhausted, "let's get you home." He might not get along well with Jack but never wanted to see any true harm befall him. He scooped the battered and frightened young spirit up in his arms and dropped down into one of his tunnels.

**As always: Please review, if not for me and the many bonus points it will get you then do it to let other readers know how much you love this story! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, I wasn't going to post this till the morning but then I realized that tomorrow is CRAZY busy and I'll be lucky if I have any time online at all. Sooooo, here's chapter 3. I hope you like it!**

As Bunny traversed his tunnels Jack hunched close against his chest, eyes squeezed tight and fists clutched in his fur the whole time. It was disconcerting, to say the least, and Bunny wondered what exactly had happened to plague the winter spirit so deeply. When they finally reached North's fortress and he moved to put him down, the boy clung to him. There was desperation in his eyes.

Surprised, Bunny tried to gently pry his fingers from his fur, "Easy, easy, mate," he cajoled, "I'm not going anywhere." It must have been the right thing to say because Jack let go, and let out a sigh that turned into a harsh watery cough. The ferocity of the fit had him doubled over but before he was done North was there patting him gently on the back.

"Ah, Jack, water is for drinking, not for breathing," said Father Christmas lightly, but Jack flinched anyway. Both guardians shared a concerned look over the young man.

"Well, let's get you into the infirmary," said North, slipping one large hand around Jack's shoulders to help him along. Once there, Mrs. Claus was waiting and North returned to his work of checking his list twice. Mrs. Claus, known as Faith to her friends, had Jack sit on a table and encouraged him to take off his hoodie. When he did Bunny gasped. He was a mottle of bruises. His torso and arms were a veritable rainbow of darkening splotches and a symphony of scrapes. There were obviously a few broken ribs as well, and Jack's breathing was still too watery for Bunny's liking. Bunny kicked himself for dragging his feet when he went to find Jack. He couldn't help but think he could have gotten there in time to stop some of the damage if he hadn't been so selfish. As for Mrs. Claus, she sucked in a short breath through her nose but said nothing. Instead she got to work putting salve on cuts and bruises alike.

As for Jack, perhaps he was dazed from his ordeal or perhaps he was shocked that Mrs. Claus was tending to him, but he said nothing, just sat stiffly and watched her work. She put a thick cream on Jack's swelling cheekbone and bruised eye and encouraged him to take a shot of some kind of green pain elixir. She patted his cheek gently. "This will make you drowsy, but you'll feel better later."

She was just bandaging his ribs when Jack began to slump.

"Here," she said, motioning to Bunny, "Help me make him more comfortable, and let's get his pants off so I can take care of his legs." Bunnymund hopped over and helped lay Jack back, resting his head softly against the pillow provided, and he was already nearly limp in his arms.

"Untie the twines on his legs." Mrs. Claus directed as she turned back to face Jack.

"Jack, sweetie," she said, as Jack moaned and struggled to open his eyes, "We've got to get at your legs, honey, so we heal them. Can you lift your hips?" Jack did as she requested, but his eyes had already slipped shut again and he was clearly asleep before she even began. Jack's legs were as bad as his arms and it was clear he'd taken quite a thrashing. His knees were a rich yellowish purple, and the tops of his feet were painful to look at. Particularly for Bunny, who had such large feet.

Speaking in a tone that was deceptively gentle, Mrs. Claus asked "Pasch, who did this?"

Faith always called Bunny by his old name. It was what she'd first come to know him by and he saw it as an endearment. "South Wind," he answered gravely.

She nodded her head and touched one of Jack's bruised ankles. This one was swollen and the bruising was a deep purple. "There's a break in there somewhere, we're going to have to brace it. South is a grumpy old man, he doesn't play well. Someone's going to have to talk with him about that." She brushed some matted hair from Jack's forehead. "Poor boy walked into a fight he didn't even know he was having."

Bunnymund stared at Faith. He knew what those nonchalant words meant; she intended to confront South Wind for his misdeeds here. It was a very serious intention.

"You can't!" He gasped.

Faith began to salve the bruises on Jack's legs. "Of course I can. I'm four thousand years old. I can do whatever I want."

Bunny helped her brace Jack's ankle and then slip him into a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, though where she got them Bunny didn't know. Together they laid him on a bed near the wall.

Faith slipped on a coat that was hung near the door and told Bunny to watch Jack before she turned and walked from the room. Bunny, agreeing and feeling it would be wrong to leave the boy alone and so vulnerable, sat obediently in a chair beside the sleeping Jack Frost. Being a wise rabbit he did not go after Faith and he didn't ask where she was going.

An hour later North opened the door. He stopped as he entered room, taking in the beaten boy asleep on the bed and his pooka guard.

"Where is my wife?"

**A/N: I'm curious what you guys think of me switching between Mrs. Claus and Faith. I wasn't sure if I should have just left it with one or the other. You can read "At the Heart of North" for a little introduction of my idea of what North's wife might be like. **

**And, as always Please Review; lots of happy Christmas bonus points from me and it helps other people know that this story is worth reading! Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: New chapter, yay! Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and especially to those of you who reviewed. Chilly air kisses from Jack and bear hugs from North for you! And, look how long this is! I really tried to make the conversation believable, so, if I didn't, let me know. It's difficult to write an awkward conversation that flows well… Anyway, I'm also working on a sculpture for class and I smashed my pinky finger with the mallet so this chapter and next will come straight from love; I'm suffering for you all. ;-) As always, all mistakes and typos are mine. **

**Shout outs to antiheroine and orangevbnin! :-D **

Bunny shrugged at North's question. "Not rightly sure, mate, but you might not want to hazard a guess."

North's eye's narrowed. He was an intimidating sight to anyone who didn't know him. "Where is she?"

"She may or may not have gone to give South Wind a talking to." He offered. Nothing anyone could do now, though he was old enough to know that crossing such an ancient was a bad idea.

Nicholas North's voice was nothing short of a bellow, "She _what_?"

Just then Mrs. Claus came tripping in around her husband, looking a little wind tossed but not much worse for the wear.

The two guardians blanched at her while she smiled innocently and caught her breath. "So glad to see you here Nick. Pasch, how is he doing?"

"Same as before," Bunny answered. North's mouth simply hung open.

"Dear," she said to North while she pulled the tie from her hair and began to neatly rebraid it, "you're going to catch fairies if you keep your mouth like that."

North's mouth snapped shut.

"There we go!" She smiled, patting his large chest fondly. "Now off to the yetis, they need the inventory signed by you. Off you go." And she bustled a sputtering North from the room.

When the door was closed and her coat was off she turned back to Bunny. "Oh, don't look at me like that," she said. "It was hardly anything."

Bunnymund raised an eyebrow. "You know, he would have held me responsible if anything had happened to you."

Faith snorted and rolled up the sleeves on her winter dress. "Well, nothing did. Now, I'm going to wake Jack and see if we can get some of that water from his lungs. I don't like the sound of his breathing." Indeed, Jack's unconscious wheezing was both watery and somewhat garbling. Bunny stood but Faith waved him off and motioned for him to sit in a chair at the far end of the room.

She took the seat near the bed and after rousing him gently rested a hand against Jack's curled back. Promptly her hand began to glow.

Bunnymund's eyes grew wide to see Faith working her healing on Jack. As the creature responsible for a number of miracles she had great healing power but she didn't do this kind of thing often, especially not lately. Bunny watched in rapt attention. It only took a few seconds and Jack began to cough. Faith spoke soothing words, ever the epitome of motherly Mrs. Claus, as Jack coughed and gagged and finally vomited the last of the fishy water from his body. "That's it," she encouraged, rubbing circles in his back, as Jack hung his head over the floor and took in deep gasping breaths, "you did wonderful."

Jack looked up at her with confusion. "Who _are_ you?"

Faith continued her ministrations with a wry look on her face. "I'm Faith, dear, you met me at the celebration party after Pitch's defeat. I'm North's wife… Mrs. Claus." Understanding dawned in Jack's eyes.

Faith took his hands in hers as he sat up. "Can you tell me what happened? How'd you end up on a beach?"

Jack's eyes fell but he nodded. "I-I was flying and making snow, you know, the usual, and then the wind just started tumbling and thrashing. I thought it was fun at first, but it never ended and then I couldn't" he swallowed "get _out_ of it. And then I was in the water." His lip trembled but he went on. "The waves kept coming over my head."

When Faith asked him what he saw while he was under the water there was a haunted look in Jack's eyes that Bunny knew wasn't from this latest misadventure. No, he was remembering. Bunnymund's mind drifted to the tragedies he himself had experienced. Reliving something like that would be horrible. he was pulled from his reverie as Jack flung his arms around Mrs. Claus and cried. Faith just patted his wild white hair and rubbed his back. "It's okay to be frightened," she soothed. "It's okay to mourn your death. You haven't gotten to. It's okay." Jack continued for some time and Bunny was ashamed. Faith was right, the boy had never mourned his own passing, he hadn't even known about it for a very long time, and it probably didn't help that he was now a guardian of joy. He was still so young in so many ways. Affection for the young man blossomed unexpectedly in Bunny's chest. Still, it wasn't right to see another man so vulnerable. He looked away and tried to think of new patterns he could put on eggs.

He was again pulled from his musings by Mrs. Claus standing from her chair and walking over to him. She rested a hand on Bunny's shoulder. "I have to go. South shouldn't try to drown him again, but…I wouldn't call his bluff."

Bunny nodded as Faith stepped from the room. Afterwards he stood and quietly made his way to sit in the chair beside where Jack was wiping the last of his tears.

"How long have you been here?" Jack choked out, trying to recompose himself as best he could.

"Not long," he lied. Really, it was a necessary lie. No one wanted to know they'd been watched.

For a moment Bunnymund glanced down at the floor where Jack had vomited. Then he shrugged. The elves would… Bunny stopped that thought in its gag-worthy tracks. He shuddered. Elves; disgusting little buggers. They'd eat _anything_.

He sighed and glanced at Jack. He felt the unsettling need to _talk_ to him, to make him feel better.

"Hey, frostbite, how ya going?"

Jack looked at him warily from his one good eye and a furrowed brow. "Okay?"

"That was quite a tumble you had, pretty assy." Jack just stared at him and blinked. Sighing, Bunnymund tried again. "You should try riding a bronco next time. You'd be ace!"

Jack smiled but it didn't quite reach his eye. Or perhaps it did, his face was almost too swollen to tell.

Now Bunny rolled his eyes. _Why_ was he being so difficult? Eggs weren't difficult. He liked eggs.

He took a deep breath and tried again. "Bad day, huh?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."

"You gonna be okay?"

Jack glanced at him and away. "Yeah, I guess."

Bunny squinted at Jack and surmised that he was lying. He didn't like that. He wondered for a moment at how to reach the young Guardian when he himself wasn't particularly talkative. Then his face almost lit up as a thought occurred to him.

"You know you… can't die, right?"

For several moments Jack watched Bunny with an unreadable look on his face. Then he coughed a little and then nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

"So no worries," Bunny offered, chucking him lightly on the chin, "just a few bumps and bruises."

Several minutes passed in silence. Normally this would have chuffed Bunny something fine, but now it felt strained. Where was North? North was good at things like this, good at talking to people.

"Riding the South wind is dangerous."

Jack looked up at him from where he'd begun to pick at his shepherd's staff.

"Well," added Bunny, "riding any wind is dangerous. It's amazing that you just hop on the back of North like he's your faithful horse or something. He kills so many, but doesn't he love you. Though he's not the last of the four winds; East and West are the least deadly, though they have their fair share in tragedy as well. But South, South is nasty. He's mean, and angry and he hates North and he hates North's friends." He motioned to Jack's beaten body. "You're lucky that's all he did to you. How about you stay off South's back, yeah?"

Jack's eyes watched Bunny, one of them wide, and he nodded. "Yeah, stay off the wind for a while."

Then something else occurred to Bunny. He caught Jack's eye. "Back on the beach, squirt…it sounded like you thought we wouldn't come for you."

"…I." Jack swallowed noisily and Bunny narrowed his eyes.

"You did know that we'd come for you, right?"

Jack's head hung and his entire body began to tremble. His bruised fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Seeing the boy start to dissolve again, Bunnymund let out a groan and, grabbing him by the back of the head, pulled Jack in for a hug. He gave the young man's hair an irritated snuff before resting his chin atop Jack's head.

"We will always, _always_ come for you, Jack. Doesn't matter where you are or what you did. No matter how much of a pain in my arse you are. We'll protect you. We'll find you. You're_ family_ now. No take backs."

From under his chin Bunnymund heard a soft sob. He pretended he didn't hear anything. When he hear the juicy sniffle of someone who was done crying and felt Jack fidget he pulled back. He smiled and ruffled Jack's hair.

"Kid, you look terrible."

Jack chuckled at that, the first truly happy gesture he'd given since they got him back, and Bunny felt something that had been tight an uncomfortable inside him uncoil and relax. He smiled broadly at the younger Guardian.

"I know you're going to do what you want but try to be safe," Bunny concluded. "I don't want to have to run half way across the world to pick your broken body up out of some desert. It's no fun."

"Yeah, yeah. No fun for me either," replied Jack in the first touch of snark he'd given in hours.

But then Jack's one good eye began to droop and Bunny, knowing the conversation was over, patted the young man on the head and helped him lay back before getting up and walking out to where North and Faith stood in the hallway. He could see Tooth approaching from a distance but ignored her. It wasn't that he didn't like her, in fact he did, but she could be…smothering and he was sure Jack wasn't interested in that right now.

"He's grouse," he told the couple. "He's just gone back to sleep. I bet he'll be back to his annoyingly frosty puckish self in no time."

Faith both raised her eyebrow and narrowed her eyes at Bunny. He chose to ignore that, too.

"Who?" Asked Tooth from behind him.

"Oh, nothing," answered North pleasantly, "problem is fixed."

"So, did you ever get that new peppermint flavor worked out?" asked Bunny.

"What? The pomegranate-peppermint? No, only elves eat it. No good."

Curious, Tooth fluttered over the heads of the others while they chatted, peaking inside the room that had occupied everyone's attention just moments earlier. That is, until she saw the condition Jack was in. Then she screamed and rushed in.

**A/N: Have I mentioned that with a crushed finger it hurts to type? Yes? Okay, I'll stop whining. I do have a question; does Bunnymund ever actually call Jack "frostbite" in the movie? It's over an hour and unfortunately I'm loathe to recall all the dialogue in its entirety and I'm not sure if that's a clever fandom thing or a movie thing. If anyone can enlighten me I'd be grateful. **

**Also, please review, it's a kind thing to do and it lets others know this story is worth taking a look at. Also, you'll get even more happy Christmas bonus points from me and I will personally reply to every review (within reason, if you're not signed in I can't, but otherwise I will!). Thank you! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey all! So, I've revised my outline and I *think* this story is going to be nine chapters long. Also, I tried my hand at writing the Russian accent into North's dialogue. I have three Russian speaking students in my English class; I really have no excuse to not know the accent. Here's the next chapter. The next one should be out at the end of the week. Sorry guys, graduate applications and final projects for class take precedence. Aside from that, thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and especially those of you who reviewed! I'm also pleasantly surprised at the warm reception you all gave Mrs. Claus. I was nervous about introducing an OC but you guys have been awesome. I'm trying to learn the sn's of repeat reviewers but it's a challenge. Also, personal responses to your reviews may not come until tonight or tomorrow. Sorry! There's so many of them! Not that I'm complaining! Anyway, without further ado; Chapter 5.**

Everyone knew Jack wasn't quite himself yet, but it was Sandy who finally alerted them that something was _wrong_.

It was nearly Christmas and the elder Guardians were gathered for a final logistics meeting. Really, it should have been everyone, but Jack was MIA and no one had enough energy to chase him down just now.

With the dream sands that were Sandy's voice he deftly produced an image of Jack followed by a question mark. The other three shrugged.

"Don't know," said North.

"He's probably off giving someone a white Christmas," added Bunny.

Sandy shook his head firmly. Sleeping sand flew from his hair and settled around him on the table and chair. An image of Jack walking along a corridor rose above Sandy's head.

"Jack's walking?" Tooth surmised.

Sandy shook his head again. "Aw, come on Sandy, the kid's fine," said Bunny, though deep inside of him his gut was already starting to sink. He knew to have assumed the boy was fine after an incident like that was naive. He was still sporting a slight limp, though at least the bruises had healed.

This time Sandy's image was of a wounded bird hopping along the ground.

"Jack's hurt again?"

An irritated little huff of sand billowed from Sandy's nose. Really, these three could be terribly dense sometimes.

A sandy version of a baby bird tumbled from a nest to the ground, and then began to hop along.

Bunny swallowed. He wanted to crack a joke, but he knew what Sandy was trying to say.

"Jack's not flying, is he?"

Sandy shook his head. Toothania gasped.

Bunny thought he should have seen it, looking back he did see it, he should have known. Jack, spry, light as a feather Jack, was always floating around, getting in the way, looking over shoulders. But not recently. Ever since his run-in with South Wind he'd been walking everywhere. Sometimes he didn't even carry his staff.

"Has he flown at all since the accident?" That's what they were calling it, courtesy of Tooth, the accident.

Sandy shook his head.

"He's been here entire time?" asked North.

A nod this time from Sandy. He would know, he saw the boy's dreams. Weeks. Jack had been at North's fortress for weeks and no one had realized that he'd never left.

Bunny swallowed the hot coal of guilt.

"Where? Where's he been hanging out?"

Sandy showed a room high in a tower where a sandy-Jack sat staring out the window.

"We should go to him!" Tooth cried, and was out of her chair before North snagged her foot. He shook his head 'no'.

"Is anything else to tell us, Sandy?" the big man asked.

Above Sandy came an image of Jack freezing a glass of water in mid-air.

"Is Jack afraid of water?" Tooth asked.

Bunny groaned.

It was a fairly regular day, the toys were being loaded, the yetis were running around with hands full of toy polish and touch-up paint. And the elves were trying to eat everything they could put in their grubby little mouths. In fact, it was a very usual day. One of the elves had been tottering along a tabletop with a glass of water, presumably to drink but in truth it was anyone's guess. Then one of those giant industrious yetis turned and knocked it from its perch. The elf had gone flying. Moreover, the water had gone flying as well. Right from its cup.

Bunnymund should have seen it then, but he saw it now; Jack had turned and seen the water pouring at his face. He'd frozen it solid before even a drop had touched him and the entire bloody thing had crashed to the floor where it had been scooped up by a yeti with a dustpan. It wasn't an uncommon thing for Jack to do, freeze something, but the look of sheer terror on his face was uncommon.

"We have to find him!" Tooth reasserted. Bunny just nodded and dropped his head into his paw. _Why?_

They decided to find Jack, to gauge just how bad the situation was. They found him wandering the halls frosting windows near the sleigh garage. He did have quite an affinity for North's tricked out sleigh.

"Hey, Jack," chirped tooth, catching up to him.

Jack turned and smiled at the other Guardian, but from around the corner where he watched Bunny sensed that there was some unease on his face. Why hadn't he seen it before?

"I was going to fly to this great ice cave some of my spritelets found. Wanna come?"

For a split second Jack froze, then his body relaxed and he propped an elbow against his staff. "Oh, no. I'm cool. Maybe some other time."

Tooth hummed away from him, a sad look on her face.

"Jack!" Said North a few minutes later, they were trying to space out their efforts so as not to raise suspicion He put an arm around Jack's shoulder. "I plan grand test for sleigh. You help. Fly by sleigh and see if all parts stay on."

"Um, sounds great big guy," answered Jack, slipping out from under North's arm, "but I think there's a town I have to go frost." He jerked his thumb in the direction of nothing in particular and scooted away.

Next Sandy showed Jack an image of them flying through the air together in a dream sand plane, doing loop-de-loops. Jack just smiled and shook his head.

Finally, Bunny was up. He sighed and put on his happy face.

"Hey, brainfreeze," he said, hopping up to the kid who was now entertaining himself by frosting the paths in front of various cookie toting elves and watching them slide around. Jack looked up at him and smiled. He seemed to have warmed up to Bunny after the accident.

"Hey, Bunny, what's up?"

Bunny held up an objective paw. "You know, I was recently informed that up here in the frozen north, with all this cold to power you, you might be faster than me. I don't believe it. And, to prove I'm still faster than you, I think we should race. Come on! What do you say?"

Jack never turned down a game. Ever.

But this time he did.

"No…I told North I'd help the yetis pack the last of the gifts."

"Nonsense!" proclaimed a joyful North, coming around the corner. "Yetis are fine. Go have race."

For a moment a trapped look crossed Jack's face as he glanced between the two elder Guardians. Somehow he knew the gig was up. Then he exploded.

"Will you just leave me alone!" He shouted. Frost coated all the walls around him.

From around the corner peeked Tooth and Sandy.

Jack sighed heavily and stumbled back against the wall. "I mean it!" he added angrily, "Just go away."

"Jack. What is wrong?" asked North, and Jack rubbed his face tiredly.

"Nothing," he said rather unconvincingly, "nothing's wrong."

Bunny stepped up to him and tapped one of his feet lightly against Jack's. "Really, when was the last time these guys left the ground? Say, a few weeks ago?"

Jack's shocked look at being exposed turned into a glare.

"I mean it. Leave me alone."

"Jack," said Tooth from around the corner, "we want to help you."

Jack could never be rude to Tooth, it wasn't in his nature, no matter how much he wished he could go back to those three hundred years of solitude right now. Instead, he braced himself against the wall and covered his face with his hands. "I'm fine, really," he muffled.

Bunny crossed his arms. "Doesn't look like it."

"Jack," said North, "Do you _want_ to fly?"

Jack peaked at North through his hands, and then lowered them. "I…yeah…Of course I do. It's just-" He sighed. "I'm not…I can't…It's... hard." At his own declaration Jack seemed to deflate.

"Right then. We help you. You fly like snowflake in no time!" North stepped up an patted one brawny hand on Jack's shoulder. "Also, how you feel about water?"

Jack winced.

"First water!" declared North.

Bunny turned and looked at him with furrowed brow. "What? Why?"

North gave a grand shrug. "We have pool. Only yetis use. Will be fun!"

**A/N: As always, please review. You will be the recipient of happy Christmas bonus points. Also, it's a nice thing to do and it will let others know this story is worth taking a look at! Thanks.**

**p.s. I _may_ or may not have made some (terrible) Guardian fan art. There is much better stuff out there but mine is kind of in the vein of my stories. Sooooo, if you all want to see them let me know. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey fair readers! Sorry if this is a little late, I took a sleeping pill that had me sleep 12 hours last night and then my parents showed up at my house for an impromptu visit and I couldn't exactly say "No, I don't have time, I'm writing a fanfiction." Again, thank you to my reviewers! You guys are awesome! I send you psychic Christmas cookies as thanks. To the follows and the favorites; thank you so much! Again, if you review, I do try to respond individually to each. If I somehow missed you and didn't respond to your review, sorry! Other than that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! As always, all spelling mistakes and typos are mine. **

Phil the yeti was not pleased that the Guardians had finally found their way back to the pool after all these years. He rather liked having it just to himself and the other yetis. But, there was nothing to be done for it; he couldn't exactly tell the boss-man to leave his own property. So, he just sulked in the hot tub and glared and grumbled.

On the other hand the Guardians were having a grand time. Well, except for Jack, but that was a given.

North stood smiling in starry-night swim trunks and a t-shirt near the floor to ceiling window that made up the west wall. The sun and snow shone in brightly through it. Bunny had already shucked off his pack and waded into the water. It was a little known fact that rabbits were excellent swimmers and he looked forward to showing off.

Tooth was sitting along the edge of the pool, her feet laid delicately in the water as her spritelets squealed and chirped with joy and entertained themselves by diving into and then out of the water, shaking themselves dry before doing it again.

Even North's wife, Faith, was there. She sat on the stairs in the shallow end watching a few elves try their hand at swimming. She had dressed each one in a swim hat and arm floaties. Drown elves would not help the situation.

Jack shifted from one foot to the other where he stood several feet back from the edge of the pool. In his snowflake swim trunks it was easy to see that most of his wounds from his accident with the South Wind were healed, only a few of the deeper bruises and cuts remained and his ribs and ankle were free from braces, though he still favored one foot over the other. However; the scars on his mind did not heal so quickly.

"Come on guys…" he whined.

"There's no help for it, mate," Bunny said. He wave to the younger guardian. "You just have to bite the bit and come on in."

Jack glared and clutched his candy-striped live vest closer. Bunny began a leisurely back stroke. "The water's fine!" he called.

Tooth giggled and spritlets dove. An elf jumped into the shallow end and splashed around a bit.

"Oh, alright!" Jack huffed, to cheering from his friends.

Very gingerly he approached the edge of the pool. He stared down at the blue water and from where he was standing it looked fathomless. With shaking hands and trembling knees he lowered himself to sit at the edge of the pool. Oh-so-slowly he lowered one foot and then the other into the water.

Then he lowered his ankles in. Next, his calves. Smooth waves lapped gently against his shins and Jack went rigid. Only the swish swish of the waves on the walls could be heard as Jack waited, waited for the water to overtake him, waited for the helplessness and the terror and the dark, but it never came, and finally, inch by inch, he relaxed. The whole pool, even Phil, let out a collective sigh.

"You can do it," encouraged North, Bunny, Tooth, and Faith.

Finally, with a resolute nod, Jack slipped himself into the water. He stilled for even longer this time, frozen in terror, before relaxing enough to wade through the water a bit. The height of it only came to his chest so he was hardly in danger, but that didn't make the water feel any less dangerous. He was grateful he'd kept enough dignity to resist flailing, but it had been a challenge.

Jack let out a breath. "Hey, this isn't so bad," he sighed.

Tooth slipped silently into the pool as the spritelets took up their play again. Bunnymund began to stroke laps and North slipped off his shirt in preparation for entering the pool.

Just then three little elves decided to hold hands and cannonball into the water. The elves were small and the amount of water they displaced was small as well. But that didn't stop a tiny wave from cresting and rolling its way lazily toward Jack.

Jack couldn't take his eyes off of it. To him it was four feet tall. To him it was going to suck him under.

Two seconds and a strange twisting cracking sound later and Jack was stuck in the center of a man-sized ice cube. The small wave was frozen as well, inches from where it would have touched his body.

All the Guardians stared. The elves stared in shock. The Jack-cube began to bob in the water, ice being the lighter of hydrogen dioxide's forms. Jack blushed blue, and from the side of the pool could be heard a choking snort. Everyone turned.

It was Tooth, trying valiantly to suppress the ruckus laughter threatening to break forth. Her hand was covering her mouth and she made the noise again. Bunny began to chuckle. Tooth's snort turned into nearly a gag and then, at the first sound of North's laughter, broke force in furious gales, doubling her over and forcing tears to run down her face. In moments everyone was laughing.

Jack huffed and tried to free his arms from where they were bound in the ice.

"Not funny!" he shouted, which only resulted in more laugher from his friends.

When Bunny finally caught his breath he said, "It's funny, mate. It's bloody hilarious."

"No, it's not." Jack glared.

Finally calming himself down, North slipped into the pool and patted Jack's shoulder. "Yes, Jack. Is very funny. You understand later when laugh is not frozen in big ice block." Apparently this was a joke and North began to chuckle again. Bunnymund grinned.

"You guys are jerks," grumbled Jack. But Jack was a prankster and some tiny part of him knew that if the situation was reversed he'd be laughing as hard as Tooth was right now. Tooth was still laughing. She looked like she'd run out of air soon if she didn't stop. That didn't mean Jack's ego wasn't bruised.

Sighing, he used his gift to crack the ice around him. For a moment the water on the top of the pool frosted over before the thin layer broke and began to dissolve. The ice that was around Jack began to bob away from him in large chunks and he pulled himself out of the pool.

"Aww, come on, Jack." Bunny called, "We didn't mean anything by it!"

"Come back," called Tooth.

North followed him out of the pool to stand beside the embarrassed Jack. "Jack?"

"I can't do it," Jack said, his shoulders falling in defeat. "You saw me. A tiny wave and I freaked out. I could barely get _in_ the water."

"Is expected," North said, "wife always says must get on rain dear again."

Jack shook his head and glared back at the water. "Not this one."

The team, now all out of the water, looked at each other at a loss for what to do.

Meanwhile the spritelet known as Baby Tooth has been watching the proceedings with her sisters. She loved water, it was fun to splash and dive in, and Queen Mother Toothania made every spritelet learn to swim just in case. She hated to think that her friend Jack Frost, who had saved her from the nightmare mares, would never again have fun splashing in the water. Baby Tooth had an inspiration.

Quick as a blink Baby Tooth was in the air and diving toward the water in the deep end. Her pointed little nose hit the water, jettisoning her deep into the pool with a sharp little splash. When she resurfaced, instead of flying out she began to splash and flail. She chirped frantically and cried, pretending to fall under the water and surface again.

Now everyone turned to look at her. Her sisters looked at her like she was crazy. The older Guardians were confused. She tried to stop for just a moment and give them a reassuring look before she went back to "drowning." She didn't want to trick everyone, just Jack.

To the others they saw a spritelet doing a poor job of play drowning, to Jack the situation was dire. Every time her head ducked under the water he relived it happening to him. Every time she seemed to choke he felt the water in his own lungs.

"Baby Tooth!" he cried.

And then, before anyone could speak or think, Jack was running to the edge of the pool and diving in. He surfaced several feet later, right under Baby Tooth, lifting her in his hand above the water and treading over to the edge where he laid her down and climbed out.

After a big of "coughing" and "weak fluttering" Baby Tooth miraculously recovered and hovered up to give her hero a big spritely hug.

Gasping and shaking, but undeniably smiling, Jack reached out and patted her gently on the back.

"You scared me!" he exclaimed. "Are you okay, Baby Tooth?"

She nodded and gave him a big smooch on the cheek before settling on his shoulder.

"Looks like the water was no match for you." Faith said, as she leaned against North. Everyone one else agreed, even Phil the yeti, and Jack looked back at the water in wonder.

"Yeah," he said, "I guess not."

As Jack turned and Baby Tooth took flight, Bunny caught her eye and raised his eyebrow inquisitively.

Baby Tooth just winked at Bunny and Jacked slipped gingerly back into the pool.

**A/N: Please review. It's a nice thing to do and it lets others know this story is worth taking a look at. Thanks!**

**p.s. I have a book recommendation for you all. It's called Never After. You can buy it online. The first story, Can He Bake a Cherry Pie, I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you like stories where girls save themselves and still get a happy ending then this is the book for you. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey, lovely readers. Thank you so much for all the reviews and the faves and follows! I hope everyone's Christmas break/season is going well. Sorry about having this out so much later than planned. A friend of mine miscarried her daughter last Friday. She was about 8 months along. The funeral was a few days ago. I cannot imagine the heartbreak of having to give birth to your baby, knowing she was dead, feeling like your own body had betrayed her, and knowing there was nothing you could do to save her. I wrote a note for the little girl and put it near her casket. I hope God reads it to her from heaven. With that, and the suffering at Sandy Hook Elementary, and getting ready for Christmas, and graduate applications, I wasn't in a mood to write for the past week or so.**

It was a beautiful clear day at the North Pole. The weather was a comfortable twenty below and the sky was a shocking pale blue. There wasn't a cloud in the sky to shadow the glory of North's mountain top fortress.

Jack gripped his staff in his hands as he stood on a south facing balcony and glared out over the edge. It was the same place he'd been for the last hour. Several feet above him Tooth hovered, out away from the railing, encouraging Jack to join her.

"You can do it, Jack! Come on!"

Jack glanced nervously back to where Bunnymund stood watching behind large glass doors. He'd tried to stand out with the kid but eventually the pooka lost feeling in his feet and had to go in. In the last week or so Christmas had come and gone and Jack had been coaxed to the pool nearly every day. He seemed more comfortable with water and was even spied playing cautiously when he thought no one was watching. Apparently Baby Tooth's trick had been the catalyst he needed.

And now it was time to fly.

Jack was not responding well.

He took a deep breath and with a body visibly trembling he lifted himself into the air. He rose slowly but steadily, and the watching hearts of his friends rose with him, until the first breeze ruffled his hair and he dropped solidly to the deck. Stumbling Jack righted himself and looked warily toward the sky. This was the fifth time he'd done the same thing.

"I…I can't do it." He'd been saying that a lot today, a lot lately. I can't, those are dangerous words.

Tooth sighed and tried to push down the frustration that was rising up in her.

"Sure you can," she said kindly, "You just have to get past that first little bit of wind."

If it was possible, Jack paled further.

"M-maybe we can do it w-without the wind."

Tooth raised an eyebrow. "Jack. It's the sky." She raised her arms and spun in a slow circle. "There's wind everywhere."

Jack nodded soberly, "Right. You know, I don't really _need_ to fly. I can still be Jack Frost and just…just run everywhere."

"Jack!" Tooth shouted in exasperation. This back and forth was beginning to wear on her nerves.

Tooth took a deep and looked down at Jack.

"You can do it. I've seen you fly and flip like it was the most natural thing the world. You're like a leaf or snowflake. When we were gathering teeth you were amazing! Come on, just give it a try.

Looking hopeful Jack began to lift from the ground.

"And I'm sure the North Wind misses you."

Jack lowered himself back down.

"No."

"What?" Tooth wasn't quite sure where she went wrong.

"I can't do it. It's too dangerous."

Tooth threw her hands in the air, her wings beat furiously. "Jack! Since when do you care about danger?"

Jack's eyes narrowed.

"No."

Tooth screamed. She opened her mouth wide, clenched her fists, and screamed.

"Jack! If you do not get out here this minute, I swear-!"

Her words were cut off by North lumbering out onto the balcony.

"What is the problem we are having?" Asked the big Russian. "Jack flying like reindeer?"

"No," replied Jack, his head hanging.

"Just like getting back on sleigh," said North.

Jack looked back at him sadly. "Not like the sleigh, or even a bike. I can't do it. I just…can't."

Nodding, North walked up to stand behind Jack.

"Jack," he said, resting a big hand on the boy's shoulder, "Guardians must be having courage. Be good boy and fly."

And then he pushed Jack's light frame hard enough that he stumbled into and over the railing.

Bunnymund rushed out to stand beside North and Tooth as they watched a screaming Jack tumble down the snow padded slope toward the crest of the cliff face. Tooth was about to rush after him when North held up his hand.

"Still has staff," he murmured, "will be fine."

"What if he crashes!" Tooth cried.

North shrugged as he watched Jack continue to roll ever closer to the edge. "Then patch up and try again."

Bunny groaned at that but didn't disagree.

All three of them watched as Jack finally began the fall, thousands of feet down, toward the base of the mountain.

Like being on a too-long roller coaster Jack screamed at first but stopped when he adjusted to the sensation. He was still falling. The air rushed past him, roaring in his ears and for a terrible moment he thought he was going to die again, that his body would be dashed on the rocks far far below. And then that will to live, that preservative quality central to all living creatures, kicked in.

"Fly, fly, fly," Jack spoke frantically, rounding his arms and shaking his staff.

"You can do it!" He might have heard Tooth yell, but he couldn't be quite sure.

Air continued to rush past him, gravity pulling him faster and faster. "Do something. Do something," he told himself, eyes squeezed shut.

_Call to me_, whispered the North Wind. Jack clenched his eyes tighter and pretended he hadn't heard.

Several moments later, his staff still clenched in his hand, Jack took a deep terrified breath and spoke.

"Wind, catch me."

The Wind did, and Jack resumed his screaming, thrashing himself free of North Wind's hold before he began falling again.

"I take it back!" Jack screamed, "Catch me! Catch me!" The Wind did, and Jack resumed his screaming.

From the balcony his friends watched. Jack had nearly disappeared into the depths before he was swept up by North Wind, and then dropped, and then swept up again, and then dropped. From a distance the Guardians gauged that Jack was having difficulty deciding whether or not he actually wanted North Wind to keep him from a very unpleasant meeting with the ground.

And, as they continued to watch Bunny glanced up at North.

"Mate, he's going to hate you for this."

North shrugged. "It worked. Jack will forgive."

Bunny raised an eyebrow. When you had eternity you could forgive anyone, didn't mean it would come quickly.

In the distance the North Wind whispered to Jack as he rushed him past sloped and valleys. _Missed you, friend_.

Jack felt tears sting his eyes. "Yeah." He answered.

_My brother harmed you_.

"Yeah." Jack choked. Beginning to tremble again he pried himself from North Wind's care and fell into a deep snow bank.

When he resurfaced the air was calm but Sandy was reclining in a golden sand sled several feet away. Jack trudged his way over, finally pulling himself to the surface of the snow.

"Hey, Sandy, what are you doing here?"

Sandy shrugged. He made an exaggerated stretch and tucked his hands behind his head. Over his eyes appeared sand shaded.

"You're relaxing?" Jack looked around at the barren waste land, "Here?"

Sandy shrugged and then gestured to Jack.

"What am I doing here? Oh…nothing."

Sandy removed his shades and raised an eyebrow at Jack. In sand he showed Jack falling from the sky like a broken kite to land in the snow bank.

"You saw that, huh?" Jack said, abashed.

Sandy just nodded.

"Well, North just pushed me off...off a cliff!"

Sandy's eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline before he began to grin.

"It's not funny!" Jack pouted. He stomped the snow, and promptly found himself engulfed in the white stuff again. From below Sandy could hear Jack scream in frustration.

Feeling for the boy, Sandy sent a sand shovel to dig him out. Jack kicked and flailed angrily.

"I hate this!" he said when he was finally standing on the snow again.

Sandy nodded sagely.

"Why do I need to fly anyway?"

A sandy snowflake with Jack's face floated past.

"So what?" said Jack, glowering.

Frowning, Sandy showed him the Guardian's oath book, and children running through the snow, skating on a pond, drawing pictures in the frost on the window.

Jack sighed and deflated.

"I know," he said. "I know. But every time I get up there I remember and I'm just _so scared. _I can't breathe, or think. I just remember…_everything_." He didn't elaborate on what everything was. The others knew both what had happened to him recently and long ago.

Sandy showed a sand-Jack, muscles bulging with a cocky smile on his face.

Jack chuckled. "Thanks."

Sandy showed Jack watching on as Pitch was suck into the earth by his own fearlings. He showed Jack fighting fiercely with his staff. He showed Jack floating carefree through the air. He showed Jack, hugging a cute caricature of the wind.

Jack felt his heart lift a little within him. "Really?" He asked.

Sandy nodded and pointed up. North wind swept down to brush lightly at Jack's moppy head of hair.

I _will not harm you._ And North Wind wrapped Jack in a gentle wispy embrace.

Jack couldn't respond. He felt the words strongly but faith, once lost, is difficult to restore.

Instead, Jack swallowed the knot in his throat and took several deep fortifying breaths.

He looked at Sandy and the other Guardian met his eye with a silent challenge.

"Right," he said, "Wind, take me home."

Tooth had settled on the roof to wait when Jack finally came flying up, though perhaps if his path was far more patchy and awkward than it had been a few weeks ago no one noticed.

"Jack!" she cried happily.

The men below also shouted fondly at him.

Jack, for his part, grabbed the end of his staff and began to beat North over the head with it as soon as he came within striking distance.

North covered his head and attempted to dodge the blows.

"Oi!" he cried, "What's this! What problem?"

"You!" Jack shouted at him, hitting him with the staff to punctuate his words, "Threw me over a cliff! When I couldn't fly!"

He settled on the balcony and hit North several more times before two yetis stepped out the doors protectively. Bunny knew that North could have easily disarmed the wintry spirit, but he doubted Jack knew. A quick look of guilty crossed the young man's face before it was replaced again with anger.

"Don't ever do that again!" he finished, before withdrawing his staff.

Slowly, North lowered his arms. Jack's chest was heaving and he held his staff firmly in his hand. The wind ruffled his hair, and he hardly seemed to notice. It was quite a welcome sight compared to how he'd been most recently.

"Right!" Declared North after looking the boy over, "back to workshop!" and he turned and headed in with his yetis.

Jack stared after him, breath still fast, for several moments before turning to the others.

"What was that?" he asked.

Bunnymund shrugged. "Don't know, but good on you, mate! You flew like a pro."

"Yay!" Tooth chirped, and clapped happily. A few fairies fluttering around her cheered too.

Jack's smile was lopsided as he glanced back over the edge of the balcony. "Yeah. Some way to go, though."

Bunny clapped Jack on the back. "Now that's done," he said, "let's go back inside. I can't feel my paws."

Tooth laughed and fluttered over to hold the door for the other two.

**A/N: Please review; it's a nice thing to do and it lets everyone know that this story is worth taking a look at. Thanks!**

**P.S. I have a couple of other short pieces coming down the pipes. Also, the next chapter is going to be very very angsty. And, if people still want to see the fanart, I'll post a link to my deviantart account at the end of the next chapter, so let me know if you're interested.**


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